SUV John

No resolution yet. I haven't had the opportunity with planned camping trips to get a separate power wire run. There may be one solution available through Furrion that was mentioned on a Facebook forum that I have to look into yet.
For now, the CANBUS system won't allow it to work as-is.

rebel823

Hi. I have a 2018 GLE 350 2 WD no factory hitch. I plan to have installed a good WD hitch.
My towing capacity reads 6650 Lbs.
The trailer I am considering is a Lance 2375 dry weight 5030 tongue weight 600. Its overall length is 28 feet.
Several questions:
1. Am I biting off too much to chew here, although the numbers seem ok? Worried about lack of 4WD, Trailer stability program.
2. Yhe GLE manual says for a retrofitted hitch, changes to cooling system May be necessary. But I’ve seen no evidence that factory hitch has modified cooling. Comments?
3. I read that tongue weight is reduced by 2/3 with the weight distribution hitch. True?
Appreciate any input.
Thanks.

Chefcct

rebel823,
I suggest that you go to a well regarded place that sells hitches for a living and ask these Important questions. They will have years of expertise.
I hope you don’t rely on answers from people in a forum to make decisions that could be life or death. Good luck!

rebel823

Thanks. I have an experienced hitch guy and he is good with everything.
I just thought I would poll the forum for any real world comments on this combination of tow vehicle attributes and trailer size. Even if anecdotal, would enjoy shared experiences.

SUV John

After recalling days with a popup camper and a Ford Explorer at the time (had a tow package with gears that gave up mileage for torque) and when you add cargo and weight including passengers in the car you may be pushing it only because of the hitch added versus factor. 2 wheel tows less that 4matic so there's that too.
I would have to double-check on specific reduction with a WDH, but hitch weight wouldn't be the biggest limit here.

SUV John

Towing mirrors on a GLE350!

These are Milenco Grand Aero DM-2912 towing mirrors from Dometic. Calling Dometic, these are the two-pack version with a carrying bag where the DM-1912 is a single pack version, but otherwise the same mirror. The feet are the only ones I found that fit between the housing and the mirror itself. A fellow camper let me try his out which convinced me to get them.

There is almost another inch of travel on the standard length extension bar, but to keep the slight flutter down as much as possible I left them as pictured. The mirror feet are set to come up to the curves of the housing and let me see the sides of the camper now. Not perfect, but they are the only ones I found that would stay on (and did so at 70 mph with truck passing by too) and they allow the mirrors to fold as well while installed.

rebel823

John I have a 2018 GLE350 but without the factory hitch and just 2 WD. So I’m also without the stability and crosswind controls that come with the factory install.
With a good WD hitch with sway control I am contemplating towing a trailer with comparable dry wt to yours. Either that or trade in for a new GLE350 with hitch package. Any thoughts.

SUV John

See post #55 above, but I found that somewhere I had been told there can be up to a 2/3 reduction in tongue weight with a WDH. That said, an aftermarket hitch with a 2WD model would likely be too close to the limit. There is also the integration with the vehicle stability control and blind spot monitoring that I would not expect to function the same as having a factory hitch.
Enjoy camping!

Hugo Holdrinet

Are you guys using the Mercedes-Benz hitch receiver or did you use an after market ? I have a gle 400 with the air suspension and we are struggling to level it Do you know if there is a setting for the back pneumatic suspension to raise a little higher ? we were missing about 1 1/2 inches from front to back.

The trailer dealer does not wish to install a WD hitch since the owners manual of the GLE does not specifically allow for it ? Any thoughts ? Trailer dry weight 4200lbs and about 400 lbs tongue weight.

I am loosing my marbles here ... any help appreciated.

SUV John

I have not seen anything stating not to use a weight distribution hitch since it is a piece of safety equipment also featuring sway control. My GLE350 has the factory hitch installed and without the weight distribution hitch my tongue weight is at the maximum. Not having air suspension I am a little low and need to see if I can fine-tune the weight distribution to improve that. Otherwise, we have thousands of miles of towing through 4 states now and have certainly tested handling with 30+ mph winds and lane-shifting construction zones.
You will see the suspension drop some, but get a WDH for the sway control feature if nothing else.

Hugo Holdrinet

Thank you for your reply. I ended up having the WD installed as well as the sway control. The rig looks good. Leaving tomorrow morning for our first trip. Driving 1 hour from the dealer felt fine even through a crazy thunderstorm and trucks passing us.

Have a great camping season !


Picking up the trailer

SUV John

The setup looks good (and a very nice looking camper too), especially with the air suspension! Consider towing mirrors if you don't have them- I posted pictures of our setup in an earlier post. Although common sense driving is still needed, you'll like it more as I did if you see more on the sides for lane changes. Then, I'm not sure if someone without towing mirrors would ever get pulled over for it. I'd recommend folding the door handle over the door as a backup to the latch. We had the door pop open against our once when it must not have been pushed closed all the way.
Happy camping and safe travels to you too!

Josh Lehr

what do you mean stiffer suspension a s huge breaks. Did you upgrade anything there? Factory tires.

mrmotoguzzi00

I had the 12' ML63 so it had stiffer suspension and bigger brakes than gle350...

Not towed the with gle63s yet... but assume similar....

Imdakine1

Super excited at maybe buying at CPO 2018 GLE 4matic so we can tow a 22 or 23’ Airstream. I believe 4matic is best as it allows towing capacity to be 7,200lbs. Did the 2017 vs 2018 GLE have more HP?

The CPO 2018’s I’m considering have the tow package. What does the tow package include? Do I need to purchase anything beyond what the factory installed tow package includes?

As someone new with towing any advice would be grateful a bit concerned about storage of AS. We have a very long driveway that can hold 4 cars in a row easily but just trying to understand backing up and also tight turns leaving a driveway as we live in a neighborhood with lots of cars parked around all driveways.

I know, stop worrying as the bigger concerns should be more when we are on the road of adventures! Haah

Hoping to get the practical stuff out of the way!

UOTE=GLE John;7766934]

A rarity in the world of camping where pickup trucks are the main vehicle of choice, here's an example of a Mercedes-Benz out in the wild towing a 5,000 pound dry weight camper. There's a weight distribution hitch on the A-frame that also adds sway control which should not be an option- it really adds a lot of control in addition to the GLE's ABS and sway control functions.

I chose the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 which has very useful diagnostics and has a more useful display (in my opinion) than traditional electronic brake controllers. This pairs up with a Tekonsha 3066-P wire harness that plugs into the factory Mercedes connector under the carpet behind the brake pedal. There is NO wiring of any kind to do with a factory installed trailer hitch making this a truly "plug-and-play"setup.

Aside from discovering a 2-pin connector in the right rear cargo compartment that was not connected from the factory, after plugging it in all brake indications and functionality was restored. NOTE: electronic brake controller testers and emulators do not function correctly with Mercedes-Benz vehicles--- even ones with "resistance loads" built into them like the Tekonsha Trailer Emulator does. My Tekonsha Trailer Emulator, as the RV dealer's tester did, just flashed half the test lights leaving it unclear whether the system is working correctly or not. Bottom line, I understand why the service manager made a tester himself to use on Mercedes-Benz vehicles to confirm proper wiring connections.

With electric trailer brakes working and properly set up, it was a dream to tow, and stop, our new Grey Wolf MK23 travel trailer!

Lastly, as an experiment, with 50% E85 and 50% premium, trip computer indication showed a 2-mpg drop towing versus not-towing. There was a 3-mpg drop on average with 100% premium versus 50-50. Acceleration to interstate speed and uphill towing showed no change in performance with either fuel combination. Stay tuned with more to follow on my E85 topic.

BTW, with standard suspension and the weight distribution hitch doing its job, both the GLE 350 and the travel trailer were positioned well and handled great. No reservations, regrets, or second guessing deciding to tow with my 2016 GLE 350![/QUOTE]

SUV John

Factory equipped to tow gives you added towing capacity over adding a hitch and it integrates with safety features such as blind-spot monitoring and stability control. 4matic does add to the towing capacity and air suspension that mine doesn't have might be nice. I haven't looked into vehicle differences.

Get towing mirrors! I made due with our camper for some time and it will make you a better driver, but long-term isn't worth the safety risk of having blind spots and not seeing the sides of the trailer. That, and it technically is required in many/most states. The Milenco Grand Aero DM-2912 towing mirrors from Dometic fit and work as advertised. Check one of the earlier posts above for pictures.

You'll need an electric brake controller and an pigtail connector that mates up with the factor connector behind the carpet directly behind the brake pedal area. I use the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 because I liked the information displayed and the diagnostics it can provide if necessary.

It takes time practicing backing up. Practice in a parking lot, use radios or in car phone to relay turning directions from a spotter, and don't worry how long it takes! Confidence and speed will come in time. Just remember the pivot points and turning radius!

DMax10S

I want to thank all the posters and especially GLE John for the valuable information in this thread. I have a 2020 GLE 350 and just purchased a Forest River Surveyor Legend (Dry Weight 5080 lb). Per many of the suggestions in this thread I have a weight distributing hitch, an anti-sway bar, a Tekonsha Brake Controller and a Furrion Rear Observation Camera. I also install the Milenco Grand Aero DM-2912 trailer mirrors.

When asked about the brake controller connection, my local Mercedes dealer was clueless and I would not have been able to find it without the posts in this thread.

I do have a question though about the Furrion Camera and its functioning with the Mercedes. I had to get a 7-pin adapter for the trailer light connection in order for it to work, but it still cuts out whenever the turn signals or brake lights are activated. It works fine otherwise. Any suggestions? When it cuts out, it says it lost the camera signal.

SUV John

Furrion has come out with wiring adapters for the 7-pin trailer wiring connector to enable things like observation cameras to work with the CANBUS system that controls voltage to the connector. Observation cameras like the ones Furrion and others make do not work correctly without constant voltage needed for the Bluetooth signal to transmit to the monitor.

The problem involves Mercedes and other foreign made vehicles, and now all American 2019 and newer vehicles as identified by Furrion. It seems like CANBUS technology use is expanding.

They make 2 versions of 7-pin adapters: F2BC001XXBK AND F2BC002XXBK.

The "001 version has the length of wire in between the ends and works better, in my opinion, on the GLE350 due to how low the trailer connector comes to the ground and fits versus when the "002" version is used. I actually got mine from Furrion after working with them to solve why the camera wasn't working with my GLE350 and the first 002 version was defective making a clicking sounds like a spark-starter and caused the running lights to pulse with the clicking sound. The replacement 001 allows the trailer connector to be positioned higher off the ground, but it's unclear how long the 001 version will be available.

WWW.etrailer.com has both versions and a good description of them on their website.

DMax10S

Thanks for the reply. I actually have the F2BC002XXBK adapter installed which makes the camera work most of the time. I might try contacting Furrion customer support for my remaining issue which is that the camera cuts out when the turn signals and/or brake lights come on. Talking to my RV dealer, he is seeing the problems that Furrion is reporting - that newer American model cars are having similar problems.

SUV John

It was all the newer pickup trucks that apparently drove Furrion to work on a solution as a leader in observation cameras. Previously I was about to run separate wiring that wouldn't have been as convenient as being switched on and off with vehicle lights. Your 002 version may have a defect. I have a steady image from our Grey Wolf 23MK to the monitor on my windshield.

Next, I plan to strap a bracket to support the trailer connector end so it isn't freely moving around.

DMax10S

Thanks - I will check with the RV Dealer next time I go in and see if another adapter works. I also submitted a support request with Furrion. Since my problem seems intermittent, I was wondering if their "resettable in-line fuse" was somehow causing my issues with camera functioning while turn signal/brake lights were on. I will post whatever I find out.

Ambrose Choy

Hello DMax10S & everyone,

I just joined the community because of this great post! Thank you all.

We just ordered a Grand Design 23BHE (5,300lb dry with 505lb tongue weight) and we will be towing with our 2017 GLE43 AMG SUV (1650lb payload, 7200lb towing cap, 720lb tongue weight). While we won't receive the trailer until Spring 2021, we were able to test tow the trailer at the RV dealership to get a feel of their WD system and handling.

Research towing info on GLE certainly was like a maze with lots of inaccurate info from dealership and online. I am very glad to find this post.

I am looking at Fusion 3 camera system and tumble here to see about the electric issues. @DMax10S Please kindly keep us posted if it fixes the issue. My wife and I are building a shopping list over the holidays and would love to hear your results - thank you.

Happy camping!
Ambrose

DMax10S

I have not yet been able to totally resolve my problems with the Furrion camera and the trailer's pre-installation wiring for the camera. The Furrion adapter does make the camera work most of the time, but I still lose the signal when the brakes are applied - not a good thing for use as a back-up camera, I have talked to Furrion who suggested powering the camera from the trailer battery with a switch (vs. from the tow vehicle). I am working with my trailer dealer to do that. It would appear the easiest way would be to power the running lights from the trailer battery (since the camera is currently wired to the running light circuit) - this way all of the wires are located near the battery and the tow hitch. I will let you know how it goes. I am hoping that I won't need the Furrion adapter after changing the power source.

Dave

Ambrose Choy

Dave, thanks for the quick reply! yes, please do keep us posted.

DMax10S

Just an update to my issues with making the Furrion camera work with my 2020 GLE 350. I was not able to make the Furrion camera work all the time even with the 7-pin Adapter. (I was loosing the camera signal when the turn signals or brake lights were activated. I asked my trailer dealer to connect the trailer running lights to the trailer battery (with a switch) and not from the tow vehicle. This was done very cleanly at the front of the trailer with the installation of a switch placed next to the battery switch. This solved the problem perfectly and eliminated the need for a 7-pin adapter. My advice to folks experiencing this problem would be to try the 7-pin adapter first. If that works, great. If not, install a switch and connect the running lights to the trailer battery. For me, the cost of the wiring and switch was about 50% more than the adapter solution. I was able though to get a partial refund from the trailer dealer by returning my slightly used adapter.

I also understand that my trailer dealer is seeing this same issue show up on some other newer model cars.